Par là Même
by Yilena
Summary: Awkwardly, Nathaniel falls in love with a girl who's confidence is more than double his own, and from the knowing looks that Chloé sends him whenever she catches him staring, she's smug and well aware of it. AU.


**AN:** Thanks for the request, Moon! I'd recommend reading _Jeux d'Esprit_ first, since this is a sequel to that. I almost included Chloé just walking into the shower with him, but it was far too awkward to try and write. I hope you enjoy this! Teasers for upcoming stories can be found on my tumblr ( _xiueryn_ ).

 _Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Chat Noir © Thomas Astruc_

He jumped when arms wrapped around his waist, and Chloé rested her head on his shoulder, warm breath against his neck with every passing second.

"And to think you didn't even want to do anything on our first date," Chloé murmured, getting herself comfortable, ignoring personal space completely. "What happened to that resolve?"

He cleared his throat. "You kind of dragged me into bed."

"Fully clothed," she pointed out, though there was still a smug quality to her voice. "I'm allowed to hug you, am I not?"

With his hands kept to himself, not quite working up the courage to return the sudden embrace, Nathaniel was certain that his face was an unflattering colour. Reading her forward texts was something else entirely to how demanding she could be in person, and after they'd finished their first set of drinks in the café, she'd announced they were going elsewhere without waiting before his reply before tugging him up by the hand and linking their fingers together.

Somehow, they ended up going back to his dorm, and he was well aware of the curious gazes that were sent their way from other students that lived in the same building. Chloé had either grinned or lifted her chin up haughtily as they walked past, and he wasn't sure whether he had to feel embarrassed when he showed her the tiny room that he was living in for the remainder of his time at university.

After the door had closed, she'd stared at the space—the one desk chair to sit down in—before taking off her shoes and falling back against his mattress without questioning whether it was okay. She didn't seem nervous from what he could tell, unlike him and the way he kept glancing at her curiously to see whether she was actually enjoying herself, and barely a minute had passed before she'd tossed her golden-coloured hair over her shoulder, patted the mattress beside her and demanded for him to sit down.

Nathaniel had sat awkwardly on the edge, hands on his thighs as he didn't know what to do with himself.

It didn't last long before she was coaxing him to come beside her, and after she'd positioned his pillows to be comfortable, the smile she flashed him met her eyes.

And then, the cuddling happened.

"I—I guess?" It came out sounding like a question, and he wanted to grimace. "I'm not really sure why you want to, though."

She tightened her hold on him. "I have more than enough self-esteem for the both of us, don't worry."

"That doesn't answer my question at all," Nathaniel muttered.

"How about I'll answer when you finally hug me back?" Chloé quipped, sounding amused, and although he couldn't see her face, he had to assume that she was smiling. "You have to do it eventually."

For all his insecurities, even when he tried to imagine a date with her that hadn't gone terrible, he hadn't guessed that she'd want to go back to his dorm-room. His sketchbooks were lying around the desk, the sheet with paint splattered over it that he used to protect his floor crumpled up messily and hanging off of the end of the bed, and an unflattering pile of clothing was shoved into the corner, waiting for them to be washed.

He tried to think of something witty to say—as she'd said that she appreciated his short replies—all that came out was, "Your sunglasses are digging into me."

She snorted. "Are you trying to undress me already?"

"I'm already a bit terrified that you managed to get me into bed with you, so I think we should slow down before that," Nathaniel replied, voice a bit high-pitched as she moved closer to him, burying her face into his neck and causing her sunglasses to press against his jawline in an uncomfortable way. "Don't you have anywhere to be today?"

"Don't be an idiot," Chloé answered, making a disapproving noise as she reached up and proceeded to toss her sunglasses on the bed beside them. "I made sure to clear my schedule so I can spend the day with you."

He swallowed. "Really?"

"What?" She laughed. "Did you think I'd turn up for a little bit then disappear?"

Quietly, he admitted, "Well, yes."

"The only reason I'd leave early is if I didn't like you," she started, and he realised with a jolt that she'd placed a kiss onto his neck before relaxing against him again. "I wouldn't have arranged to meet you if that was the case, too."

Hesitantly, he shifted and moved the arm that she'd been leaning against, placing it behind so she could rest her head on it.

"Better," she said bluntly in approval. "Maybe you'll warm up enough to actually give me a kiss good-bye later."

He let out a laugh. "So you are planning on leaving."

"Sadly, I don't think you can provide my dietary requirements here."

The same as it had been in the café, Chloé was more than capable of handling the conversation by herself. She wasn't upset when he didn't say more than a few words, sometimes his replies quiet and hesitant, and the fondness that seeped into her tone the longer they talked made him relax. The nerves that he'd had before they'd met and disappeared, replaced by a soft smile on his lips as she nattered on about any and every topic, ranting passionately and moving her hands with her words at times.

She wasn't drastically different to her messages. Sure, there was more emotion to her words and expressions that he was able to see every now and then before she settled back down to cuddling up against him—which was bewildering as it was—and he was struck with the realisation that it made her all the more endearing. From the way her smile reached her eyes when she was genuine, or how her laughter became high-pitched and clearly a sore point for her, as she reached up to cover her mouth every time that it happened.

And, somehow, she was interested in him— _comfortable_ despite how he'd awkwardly sat there in the café, unsure on how to even talk to her at first.

Other than their personalities, occupations, and habits, the main difference he had to consider between them the two of them was that while he'd prefer to stay inside, Chloé was outgoing. She enjoyed taking pictures of herself (her social media confirmed that, along with the ones she'd taken in the café), while he rarely took any of himself, having friends tag him in ones he was involved in instead.

So, he couldn't quite hide his grimace when Chloé rolled over, resting her elbows on his chest with such familiarity that it didn't seem at all that it was the first time they were meeting, and announced that they should take another picture together.

"What?" she questioned, tilting her head curiously when she caught sight of his expression. "It's not like I'm going to announce to the world that we're in your bed."

"I'm not very photogenic," Nathaniel warned her, pushing some stray hairs away from his face.

She snorted. "That's just because you don't know how to take an actual decent picture by yourself."

"...That almost sounds like there's a compliment mixed in there."

"I prefer to receive them, rather than give," Chloé said tartly. "Besides, I wouldn't be cruel enough to date someone unattractive. The amount of shit they'd get from the media would be ridiculous."

The blunt way she messaged was present when she talked, then. It was easy to see how others could think that she came across rudely—she _did—_ but it was clear that she just had a tactless way of phrasing sentences, and couldn't find the effort to correct herself if it was perceived wrongly. That was one of the reasons her apologies had been so awkward, Nathaniel assumed, and the fact that she'd tried hard and even when to Sabrina to try and make it right in the past meant that she truly did like him.

His voice was soft as he asked, "You're really not shallow, are you?"

Chloé raised her eyebrows. "Would I be in this tiny room if I was?"

"This is bigger than the one I was in last year," he said with a smile. "You would've been horrified."

He felt himself becoming more comfortable as time passed. Nathaniel didn't place his hand over his mouth when he laughed openly, he slowly stopped being so hesitant when he wanted to adjust their position, and was able to talk for longer, not so shy in his responses as their conversations ran on. Chloé still took charge of their topics most of the time, of course, fuelling them with her rants and passionate comments, and he found himself more amused than just read them when they started to get snappy, her sharp sense of humour coming out.

Chloé was everything she was in text and more.

He was shy about looking at her from the corner of his eyes at times, stealing glances before looking away and hoping that he wasn't caught, but it helped that whenever she did the same to him, she didn't back away. There was a distinct air of confidence in everything she did; from demanding that they were dating straight away, to embracing him out of nowhere, and he had to wonder where the line would be drawn for that to start to falter.

While Chloé had hinted that she was going to leave for dinner, it didn't turn out that way in the end. Instead, she'd abruptly sat up and collected her cell phone, ringing a number and barely exchanging greetings before the demands came out.

The only pause was when Chloé pursed her lips before glancing his way and asking him for his address.

They ended up standing outside the gates of his apartment building. Nathaniel had his hands awkwardly in his pockets as others that occupied the building walked past, some striking up a conversation with Chloé after recognising her, and one had asked to take a photo with her, too.

After Nathaniel had fumbled and handed the cell phone back to an unfamiliar face, Chloé had tucked her hair behind her ears before turning to look at him. "They seemed friendly."

"I guess?" he offered, frowning a bit. "I don't think I've ever actually seen them before today."

She stared at him. "That was your neighbour."

"...My point still stands."

"Right, I forgot my checklist for a relationship was for you to be an actual hermit," she said with a laugh. "It's not like I really know my neighbours—well, other than the few noise complaints I've gotten. It turns out that banging on walls isn't just a myth."

He cracked a smile. "You probably drive them mad, don't you?"

"On a good day, I'm only there for a few hours." She shrugged, crossing her arms as she turned her gaze back to the street to look at the ongoing vehicles. "I have to leave a lasting impression, right?"

From listening to the one-sided conversation before, he'd assumed that she'd ordered food from a restaurant. It was only when a car pulled up on the curb and a bespectacled girl stumbled out of door, trying to hold onto a large bag, that he realised that it wasn't quite that simple.

"Here you go, Chloé!" was the first words out of the newcomer's mouth, a sweet voice as they left the door open, stumbling forward towards them. "I'm sorry it took me so long, you see, I was on a date with—"

Chloé cut her off with a scowl. "I really don't want the details, Sabrina."

Sabrina had hair cut to her jawline, a few shades lighter than his own colour, and an openly friendly expression as she held the bags out. When her gaze fell onto him, she visibly perked up and asked, "And who might you be?"

Of all the times they'd spoken about her, Nathaniel hadn't really put a face to the name. To see someone so peppy and small, compared to him and Chloé, was almost bewildering. From all the things he'd been told, such as her being slightly pretty, he'd almost started to believe that her beauty would've been similar to Choé's.

"I—Nathaniel?" he said awkwardly, offering out his hand for her to shake.

She put the bag of food in his hand instead. " _Nathaniel_!" Sabrina exclaimed, almost bouncing on the spot. "I've heard so much about you! Oh, Chloé, I thought you'd never let us meet—"

"That's enough," Chloé interjected, slotting herself between the two of them and pointing towards the door. "Your work here is done, so have the rest of the night off."

When she got back into the car, Sabrina waved excitedly at them before she was driving down the street and out of view, and the two of them were still there on the curb, the bag clutched in his hand as Chloé scowled into the distance.

He cleared his throat. "So, she was happy?"

"Every fucking day," Chloé confirmed with a sigh. "Can we go back inside before I meet another neighbour of yours?"

After they'd entered his small kitchen—where he didn't own a dining table, and had to use stools for the islands instead—he did point out that she didn't have to order food for him, too. Chloé had just rolled her eyes and brushed it off, saying she didn't mind spending money if she liked someone, and her just saying that was enough for him to clam up a little bit, uncertain of how to reply.

Chloé didn't laugh at him when he got shy, though. She continued on after she noticed, not commenting on the way he picked at his sleeves sometimes, and it was the little things like that that he wouldn't have noticed unless she'd invited herself over for well over half the day (and counting, still).

When she realised that he didn't have a dishwasher, she did mumble underneath her breath, words too quiet for him to catch onto.

"I can just do the dishes later?" he interrupted softly, unsure on whether that was the problem or not.

"That's good," Chloé said, turning to look at him with a grin as she held up one hand for him to see. "I have to appear perfect and collected tomorrow, so that means I can chip my nails from doing mundane tasks."

He blinked. "You already paid for dinner, I wouldn't make you clean up, too."

She crossed her arms. "I need to try and give a good impression, okay."

"But I already know you?" Nathaniel replied, amusement clear in his voice. "And your first impression was honestly terrible. I don't think anyone's made a worse one with me."

Chloé sniffed. "Well, clearly that's what you're into."

He tried not to laugh as he said, "I don't know about that, this is only our first date."

"You should've thought about that before you agreed to be my boyfriend."

"Technically," he started, resting an elbow on the counter as he placed his chin on his open palm. "You're the one that announced it to your followers without asking me."

She openly glared at him. "Don't pretend that you weren't flattered, Kurtzieberg."

Laughter escaped him at that.

They settled on watching a film after that, but it was hard to see the screen from where they were sitting on his bed. Chloé didn't complain about it, instead ushering him to get comfortable again so she could put her head on his arm, and he was barely able to pay attention throughout the whole runtime.

It was silly, really. He _knew_ Chloé—they'd been friends or six months, slowly opening up to each other and becoming closer, yet it was still odd to him to see her moving. The fact that he'd been drawing her, per her request, hadn't really clicked until he noticed the curve of her nose that he'd studied, trying to make sure it was accurate, or the light blue colour of her irides that he'd taken more than a few minutes trying to find the right colour for.

He hadn't been able to capture the blond that was mixed in her eyelashes from where her make-up hadn't covered all of them.

"You're staring," she observed, her gaze not taken away from the far away screen.

Surprisingly, he didn't stiffen or look away from being caught. "I was comparing you to the drawings I did."

She grinned as she rested her head back on his shoulder. "For once, I can't match up to them."

"I—" Nathaniel started, clearing his throat. "I was thinking the opposite, actually."

"Oh?" Chloé turned around, completely comfortable to be draped across him in the process as she put her elbows onto his chest, resting her head in her hands. "Are you trying to seduce me, Nath?"

He reached up and scratched his cheek a little.

"Don't get all shy on me now," she said, a teasing lilt to her voice as her smile met her eyes. "I want to hear all about how you find me attractive. You clearly don't compliment me enough."

"You probably hear them everyday," Nathaniel muttered.

Her expression didn't change. "But they're not from you."

That—the words combined with the soft-looking expression as she gazed at him made the warmth in his chest more apparent. There was no denying that he'd developed feelings for her, but when she was in his personal space with such a intimate setting, he didn't quite know what to do with it. Through messages he could deal with his nerves, changing the topic without having eyes on him, but she was right there, shameless and confident, all the things that he didn't think he'd ever feel.

He swallowed.

"Well, I suppose I'll let them slide for now," she said with a dramatic sigh, moving her arms so she could rest her head against his chest instead, hiding her expression from him as she did so. "I expect to be showered in compliments another time."

When he spoke, it came out barely audible. "Sorry."

"You should be." Chloé sniffed dramatically. "I'm terribly hurt by this rejection."

"Rejection?" he questioned, voice coming out louder than necessary from his surprise, a vast contrast to his last words. "I— _no_. I may not be good at expressing myself, but that doesn't mean I don't like you."

The arms around his tightened. "It's a good thing that I'm into the whole self-conscious thing, apparently."

Nathaniel considered all the things he could say in reply to that, trying to think of something humorous to say, but all that came out was, "You're very pretty."

"Of course I am," she replied flippantly. "It's literally my job to be gorgeous, I'm well aware of that."

He grimaced. "You're also pretty on the inside?"

It sounded like a question, and from the way she jabbed him in the side, she'd heard it, too. " _Nath_."

"I'm feeling very put on the spot," he said, voice going a little high at the end. "I started to like you without knowing your face, how can you even think of me as shallow?"

"I never said that," she pointed out. "I just want to hear about my good points."

He snorted. "Everything but your ego, then."

Chloé tilted her head so her other cheek was resting against his chest, just so she could grin at him and say, "Sorry, that's also included in my job description."

"You might want to renegotiate."

"This relationship?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm considering it."

He blinked. "I didn't even last one date?"

"Well, if we're going by what you said, I didn't ask you," Chloé said dramatically, rolling her eyes before she closed them. "You're so picky, did you know that? You should be flattered that I'm here at all."

Honestly, he was flattered when she said they were friends in the first place. "You did buy me dinner," he mused, his hand reaching towards her to push the stray hairs from her face, but he pulled it back at the same moment, frowning as he kept his hands to himself. "And you took time out of your busy schedule to see me."

"You're fucking right about that," Chloé muttered in agreement, not opening her eyes as she shifted to get more comfortable. "Let's not forget how beautiful I am, too. I bet you your neighbour's already shared the picture I took with them earlier."

Chloé seemed so certain of everything she wanted; from her job, to who she spent her time with, and the way she'd seemed to plan out their relationship from their first meeting was a little daunting. Nathaniel had tried hard _not_ to imagine what they could've been like in the future, all because he was nervous that it wouldn't work out in the first place.

And because she hid her insecurities well, he asked quietly, "Are you sure you want to be with me?"

She opened her eyes to stare at him flatly. "You meet all my requirements, remember?"

He grimaced. "You made them up to match me."

"I'm not seeing the problem with that." She shrugged, digging her elbows into him lightly in the process. "I thought announcing to my millions of followers that you're my boyfriend would've convinced you I'm serious."

"Millions?" he blurted before realising what he'd said, sure that his pale skin was revealing his embarrassment. "I—I don't really get why you're here?"

Chloé didn't roll her eyes or laugh at that. "I like you, idiot," she said instead, eyebrows furrowing a bit. "Do I need a reason other than that?"

As much as he wanted to go with that, to accept the answer and move on without pressing her for more answers, he found himself asking, "I just—I'm not your usual type, am I?"

"You didn't look up gossip articles about all my supposed boyfriends, did you?" Chloé asked, looking at him sceptically. "I can assure you that a good percent of them are fake."

Fiddling with one of his sleeve, he shook his head. "No," Nathaniel answered honestly. "I... I don't have much to give you."

"You should work on giving me compliments, then," she replied easily, relaxing against him. "I'm not here so you can spoil me. I can do that myself."

A weak laugh escaped him. "I'm not even good at complimenting my mother."

"I'll give you lessons," Chloé announced, reaching out and patting his cheek in what seemed to be a teasing way. "Besides, it's your personality that drew me in. The day you stop with your witty texts is the day our romance dies."

The smile he offered her was sincere. "Sometimes, it's hard to remember that your favourite hobby is threatening to murder people in creative ways."

Her grin grew smug. "And do you know what your new hobby should be?"

Warily, he asked, "What?"

"Kissing me after you've walked me outside."

He swallowed. "I hope you're joking."

"A little," she admitted, rolling over to sit upright, stretching her arms out in front of her. "You can kiss me at the door instead. That way, no one will be able to take a picture of us."

Skimming over that, he questioned, "You're anticipating someone trying to take pictures of us?"

"Someone?" She laughed. "Nath, make that plural. People are able to _sell_ pictures of me, of course there's going to be interest in trying to get gossip about us."

He scratched his cheek. "That doesn't sound very fun."

"I make nice with paparazzi sometimes, just to make sure they have good shots," Chloé said with a shrug. "Besides, I wouldn't walk out of my house unless I looked great."

Stretching his legs out as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, Nathaniel observed, "Your confidence is amazing."

She put a hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows. "Wouldn't yours be if you looked like this?"

"I think you have enough for the both of us."

"Good." Chloé held out a hand for him to grasp onto, and after some hesitation, he accepted it, a bit surprised that she'd offered it at all. "Now, I'm going to call someone to pick me up, which gives you about two minutes to have a breakdown about kissing me before I leave."

As it turned out, she wasn't kidding. From what he could gather, it wasn't Sabrina that she called—who she'd given the night off flippantly, just so her assistant would leave without talking to him further—and when Chloé put her cell phone away with a sigh, her expression was visibly expectant as she turned to face him and cross her arms beneath her breaths.

She sounded amused when she said, "I can already see your ears turning red."

Nathaniel stared at her as he reached up and moved his hair to cover his ears.

The laugh that escaped her was one of the honest ones that had her putting a hand over her mouth from slight embarrassment at the sound. It wasn't forced, one to make him feel better, and to see that there was something about herself that she didn't like, even if she didn't say it aloud, was still surprising to him.

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, are you going to kiss me or not, Kurtzieberg?"

As he stood up, Nathaniel muttered, "Calling me that decreases the chance of it happening by a lot."

She put her her face in her hands and laughed freely, shoulders shaking.

Pulling down one of his sleeves to cover his hand, Nathaniel awkwardly asked, "Are you sure you've got everything you need?"

It just caused her to laugh more, and his face felt hot. "You—" Chloé tried to say, her laughter causing her to cut herself off. When she wiped her eyes, it smudged some of the light make-up that she had on. "This is a lot better than just texting, isn't it?"

He pointed out, "It's not like you ever asked to call."

"Maybe I'll start calling after I leave today." She shrugged. "Who knows? It's a mystery, but all I know is that it's a lot easier to get what you want when it's through messages instead."

Nathaniel took in a breath before he closed the distance between them, their feet almost touching, and awkwardly put his arms around her waist into an embrace. The height difference was there when they were standing, but it wasn't as extreme as when he hugged some of his friends briefly, but it meant that he got a mouthful of her blond-coloured hair in the process. It didn't help that he could feel when she started to laugh again, body shaking against his she returned the hug with obvious amusement.

"This is a step up, I guess," she quipped, and he was almost glad that she wasn't able to look up at him. "A lot better than staring at me wide-eyed in the café."

He snorted. "Are you getting off on teasing me?"

"I'm sorry, was that not obvious already?"

"You're terrible," he said fondly. "Can you close your eyes?"

She hummed. "I don't know about that."

"I'm never going to be able to kiss you if you keep looking at me," Nathaniel pointed out.

When she stood back upright immediately and made a show of looking at him pointedly before she closed her eyes, he was a bit surprised that she'd complied at all.

From the small smudge of make-up around her eyes to the reddened lips that were almost chapped—but in better condition than his own—he still felt a bit intimidated. It had been months since his last kiss, and even then he'd worried and fretted, but there hadn't been much riding on it the previous time. Chloé was different; she was someone she spoke to more frequently than his older friends, even the ones that he'd known for years, and she was usually the highlight of his day with her messages.

"I can hear you thinking from here," she said petulantly. "It's not nice to keep me waiting, you know."

Hesitantly, he raised a hand to cup her jaw, their noses brushing as he leaned in, and when he was able to feel her breath against his skin, he swallowed audibly.

As his gaze dropped down to her mouth again, he became flustered. Nathaniel hastily pressed a light kiss to her cheek before he took a step back, keeping his hands to himself as he felt his face heat up.

Chloé looked bewildered when she opened her eyes to look at him.

"I panicked?" he offered weakly with a grimace.

She didn't even try to hide her laughter.

-x-

It didn't take long for Chloé to demand that they meet up again.

He schedule was rather tame when compared to hers, though. She continued to message him early in the mornings to keep her company, and when he'd stayed up for too long the previous night to finish a piece for a project or a commission, he'd learned to send a blurry picture he'd taken of it as a reply, and it caused her to leave him alone for a few hours.

Their relationship didn't really change. They messaged each other frequently throughout the day, and Chloé sometimes called him in the evening when she was lounging in the bath—to which he'd spluttered and could hardly believe the first time, and it had taken her laughing and asking whether he wanted picture proof for him to accept it—since she didn't want to keep one hand out of the water to reply to him.

The second time they met up as almost a week later.

 **(11:37) from chloé:  
** _heres the deal with whats going to happen_

 **(11:38) from chloé:  
** _youre going to be dressed and ready to admire me in thirty minutes_

 **(11:38) from chloé:  
** _and were going to eat the best ice cream_

 **(11:40) to chloé:  
** _Aren't we meeting at noon?_

 **(11:41) from chloé:  
** _getting sabrina away from her sweetheart took a while_

 **(11:42) from chloé:  
** _stand outside so i dont have to greet your neighbours_

 **(11:44) to chloé:** _  
Maybe you should talk to them some more. They haven't stopped asking about you._

 **(11:45) from chloé:  
** _everyone should ask about me?_

 **(11:46) from chloé:  
** _its human nature to admire pretty things_

 **(11:46) from chloé:  
** _and im pretty as fuck_

 **(11:49) to chloé:  
** _Hurry your pretty self up, then._

She'd sent back a picture of her winking.

When an almost familiar car pulled up beside the curb, he watched in amusement as Chloé slowly got out of the vehicle, while Sabrina leaned forward and waved frantically in his direction, the large smile hard to miss.

Chloé just scowled as she slammed the door shut.

"Still best friends?" he questioned as a greeting.

Rather than replying to his quip, Nathaniel let out a breath of surprise when Chloé's first action was to hug him, pressing her cheek against his neck in the process. "Shut up," she murmured. "I need time to cool down after being stuck in traffic with that."

There had to be some fondness there, really. The way that she spoke about Sabrina was mostly amusing, especially when Chloé was so adamant and quick to say that she despised her with a passion without any prompting, but it was clear that if she truly didn't like her, Sabrina would've been fired long ago. Sabrina's positive personality—from what he'd seen and heard about—could've been classed as a good influence, and he definitely wasn't going to complain when Chloé's first instinct on seeing him was for skinship.

It made him feel flattered, honestly.

He carefully pulled out her ponytail that had gotten trapped between them. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

She mumbled into his neck, "Ice cream, remember?"

"That explains nothing," he pointed out. "There's countless places to buy that."

"We're getting the good stuff," she clarified.

He snorted. "That just sounds like drugs."

"Do you really think I'd hook you up with that already?" Chloé said, voice quivering towards the end from trying not to laugh. "You have to be at least a bit rich to get your hands on the _good_ stuff."

For a bit, he hadn't considered that Chloé was hugging him in what was the middle of the street. They hadn't entered the gate through to his apartment building, and although he knew that there was no reason for anyone to look at him twice—there barely ever was—it wasn't the same case for her. And yet, she didn't seem to care, not bothered by the unwanted attention that was sent her way—

Because it wasn't unwanted, he remembered. Sometimes, it was hard to remember how different they were at once.

He made a disapproving noise. "I should've asked about your drug habits instead of your kinks."

"I'm a very good girl, I'll have you know—" Chloé started, cutting herself off when he laughed. "Really, I'm clean."

Not knowing what to say to that, he settled with, "Okay."

"In all the ways," she added on.

He stiffened. "What?"

Chloé's laughter was loud as she pulled back, grinning widely for him to see clearly for the first time that day close up. "You're really easy to tease," she said, not sounding put off. "I'm assuming that you are, too?"

Nathaniel looked at her blankly, unsure on what he could say.

"You know," she started, vaguely gesturing with a hand towards him. "Clean in the sexual way? It would be such a setback to my plans if you kept that from me."

It wasn't a way that anyone should've said they wanted to further their relationship, let alone when the contact had been minimal to begin with, but it still mad his face redden as he shook his head, not quite believing what he'd just heard. As he reached up to scratch his cheek, trying not to become further embarrassed when she started laughing again, he jumped when Chloé took his free hand into her own, intertwining their fingers.

Chloé's idea of a date wasn't one he'd been on before.

"This isn't what I had in mind when you said ice cream," he deadpanned as they walked down the street.

Her grin was smug as she approached a stall that sold countless flowers, choosing to stand against the ones she preferred, clutching the cone in one hand with the extravagant ice cream that she'd ordered from the store. It was extreme, as over-the-top as her confidence, and was covered in more sprinkles and other toppings then he would've willingly consumed on a hot day.

"Come on," she demanded, passing over her cell phone after putting in the passcode. "We need some good shots before it starts to drip."

When she'd said they were getting ice cream, she really meant that she was going to splurge and buy one cone so she could pose with it. Nathaniel took a few shots, showing her what they looked like, before having to retake them three times before she was satisfied. Then, when she'd readily accepted her phone back, Chloé had passed the cone over to him, not even taking a lick of the dessert.

It was already starting to drip down the sides when he held it in one hand. "Really?" he questioned, having not quite expected that outcome. When she'd said that they wouldn't need two, he'd assumed that they were going to share, at least.

Chloé looked up from her phone to grin at him. "I can't ruin my figure with that monstrosity now, can I?"

He stared. "You're the one that bought it."

"For me to look cute with, and for you to eat," she chimed in, pocketing the device and giving him her full attention after she'd posted the picture online (complete with tagging his accounts, despite his protests). "It even has over five toppings, there has to be something you like in there."

All the regret he was feeling was because he hadn't thought to pick up napkins at the store. "What if I'm not a fan of sweets?"

"You have to be," Chloé replied, crossing her arms. "I'm the sweetest person you'll ever meet."

He cracked a smile. "Gross."

" _Gross_?" she squawked. "You should be honoured that I'm here with you at all."

As it was clear that she wasn't truly offended—there was no denying the crinkling of her eyes was from amusement—his smile grew. "It seems like you're here to torture me with this ice cream, honestly."

"You'll eat it, you ungrateful brat." She sniffed. "That flavour's really popular lately."

"Oh." He glanced down to the colourful concoction that was slowly melting. "Does that mean you did some research?"

"I— _no_ ," Chloé hastily denied. "I'm not trying to impress you or anything."

When the words were combined with her purposely looking away, not meeting his eyes, there was no denying that she was cute. Instead of calling her out on it, Nathaniel raised the ice cream up and took a bite, not surprised by how sweet it was, and continued to eat slow enough that he wouldn't hurt his teeth.

She'd curled her hair a little at the bottom of her ponytail, while the rest of the strands were straight, particularly the just over chin-length ones that she had tucked behind her ears.

Chloé cleared her throat. "How is it?"

"Sweet," he replied, honest. "But it's not as bad as I was expecting, just a bit overwhelming."

A smile blossomed on her lips. "Good."

"Are you sure you don't want any?"

She shook her head. "It's probably not a good idea."

Looking down to see the large amount that was still left, he asked, "Really?"

"Really," Chloé repeated, reaching up to tighten her ponytail and make sure it was still presentable. "I doubt there's any sort of tactic you can do to try and make me eat that Sabrina hasn't already tried."

Well, that wasn't exactly true. He'd heard about Sabrina's tactics throughout the months—sometimes for a long time when she'd succeeded and Chloé was bemoaning her full stomach—but there was a clear difference between them. It just took a bit of confidence for him to say it, that was all.

"How about," Nathaniel started slowly, using his free hand to make sure his mouth was clean, "if you have some of this, I'll kiss you?"

"Ridiculous," she said immediately, and despite her words, the cone was snatched out of his hand. When she raised it up to her lips, she looked at him pointedly before eating a large mouthful, sauce smeared across her lips when she passed it back to him. "There," she announced, licking the excess sauce off. "Are you happy now?"

He blinked. "That was surprisingly easy."

"That'll never work again," she muttered. "And you were right about it being too much."

Nathaniel laughed.

"Well," Chloé said, drawing out the syllables. "Aren't you going to hold up your end of the deal?"

"Demanding," he teased, laughter escaping when she narrowed her eyes at him.

He was nervous, but it wasn't as bad as the last time. He wasn't worrying about whether he'd do anything wrong, or if she'd be displeased with him—she'd sought him out and continued to talk even after their previous time together, and he was genuinely able to believe that his feelings were reciprocated when they spoke. So, when he pressed a kiss to her cheek, he wasn't as shy as before.

Making a noise of complaint, Chloé pushed him away with enough force to make him stumble back.

"You're unbelievable!" she accused, sounding close to laughter despite how heated she wanted to be. "You— _why_?"

More than aware of the ice cream that was starting to dribble down onto his hand, Nathaniel shrugged. "You're cute when you're flustered."

"Now you're stealing my lines," she complained, scowling as she pointedly took a step forward until their chests were almost touching. "And I'm really not a fan of your smug face."

He really tried not to smile at that. "Does that mean you're a fan of my face normally?"

"Nath," she started, reaching out to grip his t-shirt in her fist. "Shut up, will you?"

It was such a cliché move, but she'd given him more than enough time to pull away if he didn't want to. The kiss was a bit awkward at first—not because of the slight height difference, but because he was holding the ice cream and trying to keep it out of the way—and he was pretty sure his lips were cold and chapped, but hers were soft and warm against his, and he could definitely taste the monstrosity that they'd both had some of when he shyly started to kiss back.

It wasn't filled with passion or lustful intentions; rather, it was hesitant in a way, not exuding the fierce confidence that he'd come to associate with her. With the warmth of her breath against his skin, and the hammering of his heart that was becoming more apparent with every passing moment, it was only when someone jostled his shoulder that he pulled away in surprise.

Chloé looked horrified when she realised that someone had knocked into him, but it wasn't from concern for his part.

"I'm never buying ice cream again," she whispered, distraught as she looked at the growing stain on her arm.

"Sorry?" he offered sheepishly. The cone had been crushed from his surprise, meaning his hand was covered and sure to be sticky when it eventually dried, but that didn't hold a candle to her aghast expression.

She just continued to stare at it. "I can't believe you attacked me on our first date."

Nathaniel couldn't resist pointing out, "Technically, isn't this our second?"

"It only counts as a date if you kiss me." Chloé sniffed.

"I did kiss your cheek—"

When she lightly pushed him again, he was so surprised that the cone fell from his hands and ended up splattering some of the ice cream over their legs.

She stared down in horror.

-x-

Following the disastrous ice cream date—which had ended with the two of them kissing in front of his dorm before her cell phone continued to ring obnoxiously to get her attention—Nathaniel found time between commissions to draw a picture of Chloé wearing ridiculous sunglasses that had ice cream on them.

She posted it onto her social media with an aggressive message attached.

It also led to her sending him a drawing she did, one with wonky lines and pencil smudges from where she'd used the eraser a lot, of him being pushed in the road and run over. The stick figures were charming, at least.

 **(16:52) from chloé:  
** _come on its the best idea ever_

 **(16:53) from chloé:  
** _even better than just seeing you for like five minutes_

 **(16:55) to chloé:  
** _It's the worst idea I've ever heard._

 **(16:57) from chloé  
** _some people do crazy things for love_

 **(16:57) from chloé:  
** _dont let them show you up_

 **(16:59) to chloé:  
** _I'm regretting even thinking about it._

 **(17:00) from chloé:  
** _regret it while running beside me_

 **(17:02) to chloé:  
** _And now you want me to run? This is adding up quickly._

 **(17:04) from chloé:  
** _im sure itll work out_

 **(17:05) to chloé:  
** _Your puns won't work on me._

 **(17:09) from chloé:  
** _buddy_

 **(17:08) from chloé:  
** _im offering you the chance to see me sweaty in a private place_

 **(17:08) from chloé:  
** _im not seeing the downside here_

 **(17:10) to chloé:  
** _You want me to be sweaty._

 **(17:13) from chloé:  
** _you can use my shower after_

 **(17:15) from chloé:  
** _come on i havent seen you for days_

 **(17:18) to chloé:  
** _Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you._

 **(17:19) from chloé:  
** _bring over spare clothes_

 **(17:19) from chloé:  
** _or youll find yourself in bedazzled pyjamas_

 **(17:22) to chloé:  
** _I can't tell if you're joking or not._

 **(17:22) from chloé:  
** _xoxo_

He gave in far too quickly.

When he'd imagined visiting Chloé's apartment for the first time, it hadn't been with the intention of going to her building's gym first. He had to message her and wait awkwardly for her to let him inside, and then she had the gall to laugh at his outfit—he didn't have any sweatpants available, so the knee-length shorts had to do—before taking his hand and tugging him inside.

It didn't help that she'd raised her eyebrows and said it was okay for him to stare before they went inside.

Chloé had convinced them it would be the only way they could spend time with each other for a couple of days, before he due to be absorbed in his university work, and, somehow, he'd given in to the idea of working out. It didn't seem to matter to her that the most he did was run to campus on the days where he woke up late.

When he tied his hair into a ponytail, Chloé made sure to tug it while grinning widely.

It became clear within a few minutes that he was severely out of shape when compared to her.

And when she noticed it, she just grinned before focusing back on her tasks.

With his shirt sticking to him uncomfortably and a mild burn in his muscles, he decided to give up, sitting down after retrieving his phone from his backpack. From the way Chloé had placed earbuds into her ears after saying that he was being too distracting—he hadn't even initiated conversation, it was all _her—_ it became apparent that he was set to be there for a while, so he browsed the internet, leaning against the wall as his breathing started to return to normal.

His attention was brought back to her when a cold water bottle was pressed against his face.

Nathaniel jolted in surprise, almost dropping his phone in the process. "Where did you get that?"

"Across the room," she said vaguely. "Perks of not living in the slums."

He rolled his eyes. "Just because my air conditioning's broke doesn't mean I live in the slums."

"All I hear from you are terrible arguments," Chloé shot back, undoing the cap and taking a sip of water. Sweat was making her hair stick to her face, and now that they were still and not on the move, he was able to see that she'd never put make-up on in the first place. "I hope you're still okay to shower at mine, because you're not allowed inside otherwise."

He gestured to his bag on the floor. "I packed clothes so you don't have to give me pity pyjamas."

"There goes my plan."

Her apartment wasn't as lavish as he'd been led to believe. It had clearly been decorated by someone she'd hired—the paintings on the walls weren't her style, and she didn't hold back from scoffing at them when Nathaniel complimented some of the colours—and it was a lot cleaner than he'd expected, too.

The answer he got to the condition made him laugh. "Sabrina cleans for me, of course," Chloé said, opening the door to her bedroom and walking inside. "Now, do I have to fight you so I can shower first?"

He shook his head. "Go ahead, I'll just try not to touch anything."

The bathroom was attached to her bedroom, and while she was inside there, with the sound of the water audible through the wall, he sat on a free seat by the window and replied to a few messages while he waited. He'd already gotten his clothes out, not surprised that they'd failed to stay precisely folded like they'd been precisely.

It was almost a minute after the water had turned off that the door opened, complete with steam coming out.

He stared at her incredulously.

Chloé just grinned, brushing her wet hair out of her face as she strutted into the room, her other hand keeping the towel secured around her chest. It was clear that she hadn't bothered to dry herself from the droplets of water that were falling onto the floor, and from the smug smile that just wouldn't disappear, it had been her intention all along.

Of all the things he wanted to say, what came out when she started to open drawers for clothing was, "...We've been dating three weeks."

"And?" Chloé replied, not bothering to look over her shoulder at him, but he could still hear the smugness that was in her tone. "There's professional photos of me wearing less than this, you know."

"That—that's not the point," he spluttered, running a hand through his hair, momentarily forgetting that it was still secured in a ponytail, causing him to pull out some strands in the process. "A bit of warning would've been nice."

She snorted. "Do I need to warn you before I do anything?"

"A little bit would be nice unless you want me to combust," he muttered. "Can I—I mean—"

"Shower?" she supplied, raising a hand to point towards the door. "It shouldn't be too hard to figure out, but feel free to call if you want me to join you."

He almost tripped on his bag when he stood up and collected his clothes. "There's absolutely no chance of that."

"No need to be shy now," she said, tugging up the towel as she turned her head to look at him, the wide smile still present. "You are allowed to look."

Aware that his face felt warm, Nathaniel said, "I hope you have a lock."

"No, sorry." She grinned. "I promise not to come in unless I hear a shout. That sounds fair, doesn't it?"

Making his way towards the bathroom, his last words were, "Please be dressed when I come back."

Her laughter was audible when he shut the door behind him.

As she had to leave early in the morning, and he wasn't comfortable enough to stay in her apartment while she wasn't there—let alone spend the night there in the first place without arranging it first—Nathaniel left after they ate dinner. It was only a few hours but they had together, but as she'd said, it was all that was available for the following week.

Thankfully, she'd finished and gotten dressed into casual clothes by the time he'd gotten out of the shower, and it resulted in a lot of kissing while they waited for the food to be delivered. As it turned out, Chloé tended to forget when she was cooking, and she didn't trust herself not to be distracted while he was present, but the plus side was that it wasn't Sabrina that came to make the delivery that time.

"She's determined to be your friend," Chloé grumbled when Sabrina popped up in their conversation. "It's—it's _ridiculous_. There's no way I'm going to willingly spend time with her, let alone go on a date with you and her boyfriend."

He patted her head in sympathy, and she swatted his arm without any power behind it.

They continued to talk throughout the week, whether it was messages or the calls in the evening before he had to say he needed to focus on his projects to make sure he handed them in correctly, and she never failed to wake him up in the morning.

If it was a good day, she followed that message up with an apology saying he could sleep, but that only happened if she knew that he'd been up for far too long the previous.

When he questioned why she checked his accounts every morning, Chloé asked, "Well, what else am I supposed to do in the morning? I'm not going to _talk_ to Sabrina now, am I?"

He started to get into the habit of checking hers after his classes were finished. Most of the time, when she met anyone and took pictures with them, it was usually when she was meeting others from her company, barely going out in the evenings unless it was in a large group.

Whereas Nathaniel went out with friends rarely—he could count on two hands the amount of times in the past two months—Chloé was a social butterfly that didn't stick to the same people all the time. The stories that she told of her day included different names each time, and it was hard to keep track of them.

Chloé vented her frustrated from having been invited to a nightclub one evening. "Going out all the time gets boring, you know?" she said with a sigh. "Like, I get it, but I don't want to feel like shit the next day from drinking too much—and that _always_ happens."

"I'm not really big on the whole socialisation thing," he said in response. "I mean, I'm fine to talk to friends, but when it's in a crowded place with loud music, it loses any of the appeal it had before."

She made a noise of acknowledgement. "You're supposed to dance to the music."

"Absolutely not," Nathaniel retorted. "And before you even say it, there's no way you're getting me to dance with you."

"Not even if I offer to kiss you?"

He laughed. "You can't steal my trick."

"Well, I'd offer to take my clothes off, but you practically ran out of the room last time," she drawled out, sounding far too amused with herself. "Did I scare you, Nathaniel?"

"I'm more terrified of talking to strangers than you," he replied. "Imagine if I walked into the room with no clothes on out of nowhere—wouldn't you be surprised, too?"

She practically cackled. "Come on, you should've seen it coming!"

"I didn't even realise you didn't take any clothing in with you," he shot back, a bit exasperated. "You're going to tease me forever, aren't you?"

There wasn't even a pause before she said, "Until next week when you're finally free."

"Sorry," he apologised, a regretful look towards the papers that were scattered across his desk. "It's some of the last things I have to do before I'm done for good."

"It's fine," Chloé insisted, though there was a bit of whine to her voice. "You're still paying attention to me, at least, so that's something. If you refused to talk to me at all, we would've been over instantly."

He snorted. "Good to know I just need to stroke your ego to placate you."

"Nath, you should be stroking more than that." She huffed. "But, alas, you're too busy mooing over artwork to put your fingers to good use—"

"Please stop."

She didn't even try to muffle her laughter.

Although they'd spoken about their hobbies before, Chloé hadn't seemed too interested in hearing about games that weren't widely popular or animated shows that weren't originally in their native language, so he didn't talk about them often. When she asked what he was doing while she was suffering at work, he readily told her, but neither of them were things that he obsessed about.

It became clear that he must've spoken about one too often.

 **(13:13) from chloé:  
** _tell me im beautiful_

 **(13:21) to chloé:  
** _You're beautiful, but I can't cheat on my professor._

 **(13:22) from chloé:  
** _i dont deserve this treatment?_

 **(13:25) to chloé:  
** _Let me admire you later._

 **(13:27) from chloé:  
** _i will have my revenge_

As it turned out, her version of revenge was posting a picture on social media. It wasn't an embarrassing shot of him, though she did have a lot of them, nor did it have text attached that was specifically aimed to tease him (which was her usual style). Instead, it was a shot of Chloé from the waist up, and while his initial thought was that the clothing wasn't her usual style, it was the hairstyle that tipped him off that something was intentionally different.

The message she included was just wishing those with assignments good luck, giving no hint that she'd done it for him—but when he'd mentioned the series, she'd shown no interest in it.

 **(10:13) to chloé:  
** _Did you dress up as a fictional character because I ignored you the other day?_

 **(10:25) from chloé:  
** _bitch i planned it before that_

 **(10:26) from chloé:  
** _isnt this like your dream come true_

 **(10:31) to chloé:  
** _It looks nice._

 **(10:33) from chloé:  
** _nice is an insult you asshole_

 **(10:34) from chloé:  
** _im always beautiful and you need to understand that_

 **(10:36) to chloé:  
** _My bad._

 **(10:37) from chloé:  
** _forgiven this once_

 **(10:37) from chloé:  
** _just because youre cute_

 **(10:39) to chloé:  
** _You're being rather affectionate._

 **(10:44) from chloé:  
** _listen_

 **(10:45) from chloé:  
** _i put up with sabrina for hours to get that done_

 **(10:47) to chloé:  
** _Brian helped you?_

 **(10:52) from chloé:  
** _turns out shes a fan of it too_

 **(10:52) from chloé:  
** _now youre really never meeting her_

 **(10:53) from chloé:  
** _i dont want to witness that nerdfest with my own eyes_

 **(10:55) to chloé:  
** _Will she ever ascend to the status of being your friend?_

 **(10:56) from chloé:  
** _she should be thankful to just have a job_

 **(10:58) to chloé:  
** _A job where she works with her best friend? Yes._

 **(10:59) from chloé:  
** _fucking gross_

-x-

As he waited for the results of his projects, it meant that he had a lot more free time between working out what to do with my life. Chloé had to do the dreaded photoshoot with ice involved, refusing to elaborate whether it was a sculpture or just cubes, and while she was working, he opened commissions again to save up money.

With the exposure of Chloé's fans—who either wanted to commission him or left nasty comments that he ignored—it meant that there was a large boost of popularity for anything that he posted online. It was just the result of being mentioned in her feed at all, but with the common knowledge that they were dating out there, it was probably due to people wanting to know who he was.

It was a bit awkward when he checked his e-mail to find that some had contacted him to propose an interview, but he ignored them, too. There was a clear difference between their lifestyles, other than the fact that Chloé got photographed when she went grocery shopping, and they knew here to draw the line.

The first time Chloé asked him to attend an event with her, they'd been dating for two months, and he'd hesitantly accepted due to how insistent she was being that she'd have more fun with him there. Chloé had dragged him shopping, claiming that if he didn't want to wear a suit, he still needed an outfit that looked expensive.

It didn't help that when she looked into his wardrobe, the only formal-looking attire he had was wrinkled.

After little argument—it was hard to win any point with her, and her smug smile afterwards always amused him—Chloé bought his clothes in exchange for a few drawings. She'd scoffed at first, saying that she didn't need anything in return since she couldn't have him looking like a pauper at her side, but he'd nervously said that he wasn't comfortable with the amount she was spending on him.

The following pictures she did for her were ridiculous ones of her once more, and the last one became her new profile picture.

His attendance at the event had to be cancelled at the last moment due to a cold, however. When he'd answered the phone the day before with a blocked nose, Chloé had sent Sabrina over to his apartment with medicine (since Sabrina falling sick was a lot better than her).

When Sabrina left his apartment with his number, along with the promise of the two of them talking as they bonded over similar hobbies, Chloé regretted her choice dramatically.

"I've tried so hard to keep you two apart!" she moaned over the phone, her voice muffled. "You—you just _had_ to get sick and betray me, didn't you?"

His answer was a wet cough.

Although he hadn't intended for it to happen, befriending Sabrina meant that he knew more about Chloé through that. Sabrina had the habit of sending him candid pictures of Chloé throughout the day; in the back of the car, asleep with hair sticking to her face, and sometimes grumpily reading while waiting for a shoot to start. They were always accompanied with amusing messages and far more emojis than necessary, but it always made him smile.

Sabrina wasn't too bad normally, too. They messaged about their interests, to Chloé's disdain, and although they didn't meet up with just the two of them, Sabrina stuck around for a while whenever she dropped Chloé off, rapidly talking about something enthusiastically until Chloé dragged him away.

When the three of them finally went out for lunch together, it ended with Chloé sighing with her face in her hands.

The first time either of them stayed at each other's place, it was an accident. Chloé had convinced him to come over to watch a film with her, and while they were on her couch—with her resting her head on his shoulder and practically being a leech—he ended up falling asleep. He woke up, bewildered, to her kicking his shin with enough force for it to hurt for a moment before she tugged on his hand and led him towards the bedroom.

Sleeping in jeans wasn't at all comfortable.

Chloé looked far too smug in the morning, making sure to roll onto her front and draw attention to the silk pyjamas that she was wearing, resting her face on her hands.

While it was notoriously hard for him not to be flustered when they kissed in public, especially after Chloé had pointed out how he clammed up when they were outside, he as a lot more confident when they were away from prying eyes. Their kisses became more heated, hands wandering, and when she'd broken a nail trying to undo the button of his trousers, he'd laughed until he had tears due to her distraught expression.

She refused to be the one to do it the following time, stubbornly insisting that he had to take them off himself. It ruined the mood completely when she finished that sentence by tossing her hair over her shoulder, and he started laughing once again. Chloé had pushed him back against he mattress, straddling him with practised ease, before kissing him to try and vanquish his amusement.

It didn't stop his laughter.

There were moments where she stared at him like he was strange, of course. Whether it was brand names that she dropped, or mentioned other models or actors that she was acquainted with, whenever it was clear that he had no clue who she was talking about, she looked personally offended and claimed that he was out of touch. It resulted in a lot of videos being sent, and a few films that they had to sit through, but it wasn't too bad when she leaned on him, a habit that happened whenever they watched something together.

He learned a lot of her quirks. She fiddled with her hair when she was nervous, gnawed on the inside of her cheek when she tried hard not to snap at anyone, and usually showed her affections with aggressive words. It was easy to spot in interviews when she was uncomfortable, and when her words had been diluted down to be family friendly when they were just written.

When the pictures of her with the ice was released, she was on the front cover of a magazine. Nathaniel bought a copy and sent a picture of it to her, just so she knew that he'd gotten a physical copy of it.

His friends had expressed their want to meet her, of course. It had always been the same if he'd gone on a date with anyone, but with the added popularity that Chloé had, they were even more insistent.

It worried him a bit, but it wasn't for the same reasons that Chloé had tried to keep Sabrina away from him. He'd known his friends for years, grown up with a few of them, and he didn't want there to be a disconnect when he introduced his girlfriend to them—especially not one as straight-forward as Chloé, as he knew that if she didn't like them, she'd probably tell them to their face.

All the worrying was for nothing, apparently. With a few of them graduating—him included—they had a party in his friend's flat, as it was the largest of all of theirs, and he gave in and invited Chloé along with him.

She was ecstatic about it, of course.

Chloé spoke to more people than he did that evening, and although a few of them were wary of her in the beginning, it didn't take long for them to warm up to her. A few comments that she said had an odd reaction, as they weren't used to her blunt words, but no one was truly offended.

When she dragged him along to refill their drinks, he said quietly, "You're being rather tame tonight."

She grinned. "Well, they're your friends, aren't they?"

"I—yeah," Nathaniel agreed, a bit taken aback from the answer. "I just... I don't know, really."

"I'm not outrageously rude to everyone I meet, you know." She raised her head up haughtily. "I wait until the third meeting, at least. There's a reason I'm so popular."

He raised his eyebrows. "There's a video of you telling another model to fuck off."

She didn't even try to look guilty. "She kept playing footsie with me."

"She was trying to put her shoes on."

She shrugged.

As they didn't drink a lot, the night ended with them walking a bit to return to his dorm. By that point, Chloé had flippantly told one of his neighbours to fuck off, and she was acquainted with his flat enough to know where everything was kept. It also meant that she'd made a point of purchasing a new toothbrush and leaving it beside his, along with shower products that were better quality than the ones that he already had.

She took joy in complaining about his pillows every time.

The night was filled with warm breath, stolen kisses and his lips trailing down her neck, the curve of her shoulders, and the swell of her breasts. It was intimate; from their mingled breaths to the way her hands trailed through his hair, and the feeling of her legs wrapped around his hips. Her skin was soft, body bare for him to admire, and the smug smile she gave whenever he uttered a compliment was endearing.

The most telling part of their feelings was afterwards when she brushed his hair away from his face and placed a kiss to his cheek, making his already warm face burn.

While he didn't want to impose and stay at her apartment while he looked for a place to live after graduating, Chloé tried to say that it was fine, but he decided to live with his parents for a while instead. It only resulted in him spending a lot of evenings over at her house, sometimes spending the follow day there and making dinner before she came home (it helped that Sabrina had sent him a file filled with information on Chloé's diet).

Usually, her messages were creative when she demanded for him to come over.

 **(19:23) from chloé:  
** _you have five minutes to get here before i murder sabrina_

 **(19:25) to chloé:  
** _You can't kill your best friend._

 **(19:25) from chloé:  
** _i can when shes mooning about you_

 **(19:27) from chloé:  
** _im well aware youre a dork i dont need someone else to tell me_

 **(19:29) to chloé:  
** _That's only slightly hurtful._

 **(19:29) from chloé:  
** _come kick her out so we can have sex_

 **(19:32) to chloé:  
** _There's no way I'll get there in five minutes._

 **(19:32) from chloé:  
** _youre such a disappointment_

 **(19:33) to chloé:  
** _And you didn't deny that she's your best friend._

 **(19:34) from chloé:  
** _people get romanticised when theyre dead_

 **(19:36) to chloé:  
** _...I'll be there soon._

It was a surprise that she actually wanted to talk to him when she was angry. Chloé tended to go on rants as it was, but when she was truly annoyed, she fumed silently and had a habit of clenching her jaw as she stared heatedly into nothing. The first time she'd asked him to come over and he was greeted with her stiff gait and aggressive facial expressions, he'd expected the worst.

It was still bad, of course, enough so that it warranted her response, but it wasn't all the possibilities he was thinking of. She was mad that another model had gotten the job that she'd wanted, and then they'd made an off-handed remark towards her, and instead of making a scene, Chloé had kept to herself and messaged him instead.

There was no denying that he was touched that she wanted him there, even if it was just to be a quiet presence walking around her apartment, passing her a hot drink in her favourite mug (one that she'd swatted out of his hand the first time he'd been given the task of fetching them drinks).

The following morning, he woke up to the surprise of Chloé cooking breakfast. When he was given a plate of undercooked food—not burnt like she'd promised any food she'd make would be—he just grinned as she looked away bashfully, busying herself with plating up her own food.

"I'm never cooking again," she muttered afterwards.

Nathaniel swiftly took the plate from her hands, going to the dishwasher (that she'd been entirely too smug about the first time she used it in front of him). "It wasn't that bad."

"I just—" Chloé started, cutting herself off with a frustrated noise, and when he turned to look, she'd started to walk towards the couch to sit down. "You actually stayed yesterday."

"Yes?" he answered, curious. "You did invite me, and I'm pretty sure you'd tell me if I overstayed my welcome."

She frowned. "I ignored you for hours."

"You ignored just about everything," Nathaniel pointed out, sitting down beside her, and she wasted no time to lift her legs up and rest them across his thighs. The first time she'd done that, he'd stiffened and was unsure on where to put his hands, but he was more than comfortable to just fiddle with her clothing since. "It's not like you were raging and punching things, which I did speculate you'd do when you truly were angered for a bit."

Chloé snorted. "And injure myself in the process? Definitely not."

"My bad," he apologised insincerely. "Now I know you're a brooder."

"Don't make me sound like a bad love interest," she scolded, pushing his shoulder lightly, not enough force to jostle him. "I'm not _that_ bad."

He tried not to smile as he said, "So much more menacing than your cooking."

Chloé made an offended noise. "You said it wasn't bad!"

"I was trying to spare your feelings, but now I know you're brave enough to handle it," he replied, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. "Aren't you glad I know you for who you really are?"

She swatted his hands back down to rest on her legs. "And what is that?"

"An ice queen—"

Chloé's push had a lot more power behind it that time, and he really did fall back on the sofa, laughing as she manoeuvred herself to climb on top of him, eyes narrowed as she rested her hands on his chest. "You're not allowed to attack me in my own home."

Trying not to laugh, his voice wobbled as he said, "Technically, you're the one that attacked me."

"Why do I like _you_?" she exclaimed dramatically, gesturing towards him with one hand. "I mean, look at you! You're—you're _so—_ " Chloé paused, looking like she was considering her words before she pulled a displeased face. "So... you."

There was no venom to her words. "I sure hope that's a compliment."

"You're actually the worst," she proclaimed, eyes narrowed. "I mean, your wardrobe is abysmal, sometimes you forget to even bush your hair, and it's really frustrating that I find any of that attractive at all."

"Careful," he teased, placing his hands on her hips as he shifted to get more comfortable. "It sounds like you're close to confessing to me."

She snorted. "You're well aware that I'm in love with you."

He blinked.

"Oh," Chloé said slowly when she realised that he was staying silent. "Really?"

Nathaniel stared for a bit, unsure on what to say. "I-I didn't want to assume?" he offered weakly, frowning at how it sounded. "I mean, I knew that you _liked_ me, but I didn't want to guess."

She rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."

"Yeah," he readily agreed, voice soft. "I—"

"Love me?" she offered, tossing some hair over her shoulder. "Of course you do, everyone should."

A laugh escaped him at that. "You're making my feelings seem unimportant."

She sniffed haughtily. "Well, you've got some tough competition if you want to be noticed by me."

"...You just said you love me," Nathaniel pointed out, amused. "Do I really have to compete with anyone? Competitions made me nervous."

"Just about everything makes you nervous, Nath," she said, patting the top of his head. "And Sabrina's fighting for the position of being my most important person."

He reached up to push the hair she'd put over his forehead away again. "This isn't a very good way of telling someone you love them."

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows. "Does that mean you're not happy with me sitting on your lap?"

"You can do that without bringing Sabrina up."

She shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you when she challenges you to a duel."

"Honestly, the only thing she'd challenge me to is trying to marathon a show with her," Nathaniel mused. "And I don't think that would count."

"Unless she plans to murder you in your sleep."

He snorted. "Like you thought she'd do to you one time?"

" _One_ time?" Chloé exclaimed. "There's a reason I don't sleep near her."

There was a lot of evidence that she did sleep around her assistant, just not at each other's houses, but he just smiled and said, "Of course, dear."

"I've changed my mind," she announced suddenly, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "I don't like you any more."

"Right," he agreed, amused. "You love me."

She grimaced in an exaggerated way. "I regret having feelings."

"There, there," Nathaniel insincerely murmured, patting her thigh. "You'll learn to accept that you're a normal human being someday."

In response, Chloé muttered, "I hate you."

"I love you, too."


End file.
